Conn. family mourns man killed in Auburn I-290 crash

The mother-in-law of a man killed by an alleged drunken driver early Sunday morning on Interstate 290 in Auburn said the victim’s family and friends are just devastated.

Duane B. Race, 45, of Battey Street, Putnam, died Monday after the bread truck he was driving was rear-ended around 4:30 a.m. by a Jeep driven by Keith M. Leblanc Jr., 26, of Auburn, according to police. Mr. Leblanc has been charged with motor vehicle homicide and drunken driving.

“I can’t even tell you how it has affected our lives, his family, my grandchildren, his wife,” said Diane Wagher of Thompson. “Duane was a wonderful person. He never hurt a flea in his life. He would take his shirt off his back to give it to a stranger. That’s just how he was.”

Mr. Race, a father of three, was a 1985 graduate of David Hale Fanning Trade School in Worcester and served in the U.S. Navy for four years. At the time of his death, he was a delivery driver for Nissen Co. of Worcester

“The poor guy was working. The poor guy just started his shift,” Mrs. Wagher said. “Duane had worked on Saturday. And they asked him to work on Sunday. And, of course, Duane was a hard worker. He never refused to work. He worked through snowstorms. I don’t think he ever took a day off from work. The only time I ever remember him taking time off from work was when his son was sick.

“Duane hit the guardrail so hard that he flew 90 to 100 feet out of his truck,” Ms. Wagher said. “He was in the road. And he (Mr. Leblanc) left him like an animal. How does another human being hit someone and leave him?”

At Mr. Leblanc’s arraignment Tuesday in Central District Court in Worcester, Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Travers said Mr. Leblanc did not stop after the crash. Police said they followed a trail of leaking fluids to Mr. Leblanc’s home, where they arrested him.

“His lawyer said they should have never given him (Mr. Leblanc) a Breathalyzer because he had a head injury,” Mrs. Wagher said. “If that family wants to see a head injury, we have a picture of Duane. He had a head injury. His bones were busted in his face. He had breaks on the top of his skull. That’s a head injury.”

Mrs. Wagher said she hopes Mr. Leblanc pays for what he did, assuming he is found guilty.

“Nobody forced him to drink. Nobody forced him to get into that car,” Mrs. Wagher said. “And I think it’s just terrible how these drunk drivers get away with it. They don’t realize the impact they have on families. It’s not just his wife, Danielle. It’s his children. It’s his friends. It’s his relatives. It’s not just one person. You can’t take the life of a 45-year-old man who was healthy and loved life, it’s just not fair.”

Mrs. Wagher said Mr. Race was a wonderful husband, father and son-in-law.

“Duane had a fear of heights. Two years ago, when everybody had that snow, and we had to shovel off our roofs, Duane came over and got up on the roof,” Mrs. Wagher recalled. “I said to him, ‘You can’t go up there. You’re afraid of heights.’ He said, ‘I don’t want Dad (Mr. Wagher) to go up there because I don’t want him to fall and get hurt.’ That’s the kind of the guy he was.”

Mr. Race loved to cook, so much so that when his in-laws celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary five years ago, he did all the catering and cooking for a party in honor of the milestone.

On Saturday night, Mr. and Mrs. Race and his in-laws had supper and played a little cards. They left early because Mr. Race had to work the next morning. The next time Mrs. Wagher would see her son-in-law was in UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus in Worcester, clinging to life.

“There are no words to describe how Duane looked,” she said. “My daughter said to me, ‘Please pinch me and wake me up because this is just a nightmare. This can’t be true. I can’t have lost my best friend.’ ”

Calling hours are from 3 to 5:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church St., Putnam, with a funeral service at 5:30 p.m. in the funeral home.